In magnetic storage systems, data is commonly read from and written onto magnetic recording media utilizing magnetic transducers. Data is written on the magnetic recording media by moving a magnetic recording transducer to a position over the media where the data is to be stored. The magnetic recording transducer then generates a magnetic field, which encodes the data into the magnetic media. Data is read from the media by similarly positioning the magnetic read transducer and then sensing the magnetic field of the magnetic media. Read and write operations may be independently synchronized with the movement of the media to ensure that the data can be read from and written to the desired location on the media.
An important and continuing goal in the data storage industry is that of increasing the density of data stored on a medium. For tape storage systems, that goal has lead to increasing the track density on recording tape, and decreasing the thickness of the magnetic tape medium. However, the development of small footprint, higher performance tape drive systems has created various problems in the design of a tape head assembly for use in such systems.
In a tape drive system, magnetic tape is moved over the surface of the tape head at high speed. This movement generally entrains a film of air between the head and tape. Usually the tape head is designed to minimize the spacing between the head and the running tape. Minimizing the spacing between the magnetic head and the magnetic tape is crucial for ensuring that the recording gaps of the writing transducers, which are the source of the magnetic recording flux, have maximum writing effectiveness, and for ensuring that the read elements are able to read back the highest frequency content.
However, this close spacing has resulted in various tribological issues, among them, increased tape/head friction and stiction, debris accumulation, head wear, gap erosion, and sensor and shield corrosion.
For tape heads, sensors can be recessed and flux guided, but flux guides have not worked well due to head processing difficulty and to spacing loss. Alternatively, GMR heads, which are much more susceptible to corrosion effects than AMR heads, may be fabricated using materials that have improved corrosion resistance, but GMR heads built from these materials may not provide optimal magnetic performance (amplitude in particular). Head-media friction and stiction are usually addressed by making the media rougher, but this may adversely affect the signal-to-noise ratio and thus detection capability and ultimately areal density.